Workplace psychosocial factors are associated with veterinary employees’ organizational commitment to their current veterinary hospital

Abstract

Abstract OBJECTIVE To classify a sample of veterinary professionals into distinct organizational-commitment profiles and to identify associations between psychosocial aspects of the workplace and organizational-commitment profile membership. SAMPLE 487 veterinary employees who worked for a corporate veterinary organization in Canada. METHODS Survey components measured for this study included the Three-Component Model (TCM) Employee Commitment Survey–Revised, the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, and participant demographics. First, latent profile analysis was used to identify distinct organizational-commitment profiles based on 3 components of commitment (affective, continuance, and normative). Next, the Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare participants’ intention to leave their hospital on the basis of organizational-commitment profile. Finally, logistic regression was performed to assess the association between perceived psychosocial workplace characteristics and organizational-commitment profile membership. RESULTS 2 organizational-commitment profiles were identified: Affective/Normative (AC/NC) Dominant (n = 388) and Mid-Low Commitment (99). Participants in the Mid-Low Commitment Profile had a significantly higher intention-to-leave score (median, 3.0) than participants in the AC/NC Dominant Profile (median, 2.0; P < .001). Psychosocial factors found to predict membership in the AC/NC Dominant Profile included the following: influence at work (OR, 2.08; P < .001), meaning of work (OR, 1.38; P = .067), rewards/recognition (OR, 1.63; P = .007), and quality of leadership (OR, 1.85; P = .0003). Members of the AC/NC Dominant Profile also experienced greater work-life conflict (OR, 1.65; P = .003) compared to the Mid-Low Commitment Profile. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Findings identified potential psychosocial aspects of the workplace that can be considered to support more desirable organizational-commitment profiles that are likely to lead to favorable outcomes for veterinary practices and their employees.